Commonwealth v. DePiero (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-014-15)
Anonymous 911 call reporting drunk driver provides reasonable suspicion for investigatory stop where tip made contemporaneously with observation of dangerous conduct.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Housewright (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-025-15)
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Commonwealth v. Ruano (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-013-15)
Conviction for witness intimidation reversed where evidence of implicit threats lacked sufficient context to prove intimidation beyond reasonable doubt.
Commonwealth v. Scott (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-204-14)
DNA evidence linked defendant to victim's death decades later. Supreme Judicial Court affirmed conviction despite exclusion of third-party culprit evidence and prosecutor's improper closing argument.
Commonwealth v. Ilya I., a juvenile (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-022-15)
Juvenile arrested with thirteen small bags of marijuana. Court affirmed dismissal, holding no probable cause to believe intent to distribute rather than personal use.
Commonwealth v. McGhee (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-023-15)
Convictions vacated where trial judge failed to inquire into credible information that juror slept through victim testimony despite prompt judicial intervention requirement.
Commonwealth v. Cowels; Commonwealth v. Mims (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-021-15)
Murder conviction vacated where DNA testing excluded defendants and victim as source of bloody towels that corroborated key witness with severe credibility issues.
Commonwealth v. Zhan Tang Huang (and 14 companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-010-15)
Property owners and manager convicted of manslaughter and code violations for knowingly maintaining residential building with non-functioning smoke detectors despite repeated warnings.
Commonwealth v. Brown (and a companion case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-020-15)
Double jeopardy does not bar retrial where the jury's initial verdicts were too ambiguous to establish a clear acquittal on premeditation theory.
Commonwealth v. Santiago (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-017-15)
Court rejects target standing doctrine allowing defendant to challenge search of third party. Reasonable suspicion supported investigatory stop; violation not egregious enough.